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August, 2014
U.K. sushi concept plans to expand in New York

Fast-casual Wasabi will open its second restaurant in the Big Apple in Marchh
Wasabi, a fast-casual sushi chain based in London,
is planning to open its second New York City
restaurant in March 2015, the company told Nation’s
Restaurant News.

The concept opened its first New York City location
in Times Square in February. The second will open
downtown at 7 World Trade Center.

“We’re very, very pleased to have a site in the
World Trade Center,” said Wasabi head of facilities
Mark Lerego. “It’s a compliment to the gravitas of
the company.

The company is also in negotiations to open at
Manhattan’s downtown Fulton Street subway station,
which is currently under renovation, Lerego said.

Dong Hyun Kim, a South Korean entrepreneur and
former accountant for Samsung, founded Wasabi. Kim
got his start in restaurants with a fish-and-chip
stand in London’s Camden neighborhood. He expanded
with stalls offering chicken, Italian food, Japanese
food and other items before borrowing money from his
sister to open the first Wasabi location in central
London.

“Apparently, from day one people were queueing out
the door to get the food,” Lerego said.

The chain continued to expand over the next 10
years, and now has 38 locations in the United
Kingdom, plus the New York unit.

The Cheesecake Factory Inc.
said Monday it plans to move
into Asia for the first
time.

The Calabasas Hills,
Calif.-based casual-dining
operator signed an exclusive
licensing agreement with
Hong Kong-based Maxim’s
Caterers Ltd. to develop at
least 14 restaurants over
the next 10 years in Hong
Kong, Macau, Taiwan and
China, beginning in 2015.

The agreement also includes
the opportunity to expand to
Japan, South Korea,
Malaysia, Singapore and
Thailand over time.

“The agreement with Maxim’s
provides an incredible
opportunity for us to
develop in Asia with an
established, multi-unit
restaurant operator that has
nearly 60 years of operating
experience in the region,”
David Overton, The
Cheesecake Factory Inc.’s
chairman and chief
executive, said in a
statement.

In addition to Asian and
European restaurant brands,
Maxim’s Caterers is a
licensee of Starbucks. The
group operates more than 840
outlets of all its brands in
Hong Kong and China and four
in Vietnam.

Though founded in 1978, The
Cheesecake Factory came
relatively late to the
international growth game,
opening its first overseas
location in Dubai in 2012.

Since then, company
officials have increasingly
touted the chain’s growth
opportunities outside the
U.S.

“International expansion
will become an increasingly
meaningful driver to
achieving our goal of
delivering mid-teens
earnings per share growth
over time as the number of
restaurants operated by our
licensees gradually
increase,” Overton said.

The company’s four
international units are all
in the Middle East. They are
among 22 licensed units
scheduled to open with
Kuwait-based M.H. Alshaya
Co. in five countries: the
United Arab Emirates,
Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and
Saudi Arabia, and company
officials say they are
performing well beyond
expectations.

The Cheesecake Factory also
has a licensing agreement
for the development of 12
restaurants throughout
Mexico and Chile, with the
potential to move into
Argentina, Brazil, Columbia
and Peru. The first
restaurant in that region is
scheduled to open later this
year.

The Cheesecake Factory Inc.
operates 181 restaurants in
the U.S. and Puerto Rico,
including 169 under The
Cheesecake Factory brand, 11
Grand Lux Café units and one
RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen
location.